Moments
by Silver Sailor Ganymede
Summary: One hundred drabbles involving Blaise Zabini and Theodore Nott.
1. Frog

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

_**(A.N: For the 100 Drabble/Oneshots Challenge)**_

Moments  
By Silver Sailor Ganymede

I. Frog

"Why does Longbottom even have a pet frog?" Blaise drawled. "I mean doesn't he realise that they went out of fashion around two hundred years ago?"

"Zabini…" Theodore sighed, but he was cut off before he could say anything more.

"And they're not even pretty. Frogs are hideous creatures. And noisy."

"_Zabini_."

"I mean fair enough if fur and feathers make you sneeze or something, but seriously, how many people do you know who're allergic to both feathers _and_ fur. I think Longbottom's just retarded."

"Evidently so are you," Theodore said, trying not to snicker.

Blaise puffed up, reminding Theodore rather of an angry bullfrog.

"And why is that?"

"Longbottom doesn't have a frog as a familiar, you imbecile. It's a toad."

"I knew that…"


	2. Apple Sauce

II. Apple Sauce

Theodore glanced over at his friend and shook his head in disbelief. He honestly felt like he was going to be sick.

"Zabini, am I hallucinating or did you really just put apple sauce in your coffee?"

Blaise glared up at him and Theodore suddenly remembered why no one usually talked to the other boy in the morning until he'd had at least five cups of coffee.

"What's your point? I can't see the honey and I wanted something to make it sweeter. Do you want to try it?"

"No thank you," Theodore replied. "You know I don't like sweet things."

"Does that include Tracey Davis?"

"Zabini, shut up."


	3. Evil

III. Evil

"Theo, are we evil?"

Theodore sighed. He was trying to do his Ancient Runes homework, which was hard enough without Blaise going all philosophical on him.

"No, we're not. Evil is simply a perception."

"You sound like the Dark Lord," Blaise said eventually. "And he was evil, wasn't he? So maybe that makes us evil as well."

"You've been listening to too much Gryffindor propaganda" was all Theodore could say in response.


	4. Hufflepuff

IV. Hufflepuff

"Theo, I've got something to tell you," Blaise mumbled, his cheeks going scarlet. "And it's not something I've told anyone before… so promise me you won't use it against me, ok?"

Theodore said nothing; he wasn't going to make promises he couldn't keep.

Blaise went a deeper shade of red and Theodore found himself smirking.

"So what's this secret then? You've been sleeping with a Hufflepuff?"

"No!" Blaise yelped, outraged. "I haven't been sleeping with anyone."

"Liar," Theodore snorted. "I know full well that you have."

"Look, that's not what I wanted to discuss, ok?" Blaise sighed. "I just wanted to ask… when you were Sorted, did the Hat give you a choice?"

"Of course not," Theodore said. "You've been reading a load of rubbish again, haven't you?"

"I guess it's just me then," Blaise said at last. "What would you say if I told you that the Sorting Hat wanted to put me in Ravenclaw?"

"I'd say you were lying," Theodore replied. "You're just as much a Slytherin as I am."


	5. Crab

V. Crab

"Hey Theo, wake up!"

It was times like this that Theodore really wished that he didn't have to share a dormitory with Blaise Zabini. The boy had a penchant for waking him up in the middle of the night, which really was most annoying. He wondered how long it would take for Blaise to realise that if he actually slept at night, he wouldn't be so tired in the mornings.

"I'm trying to sleep, Zabini," Theodore snarled.

"Whatever for?"

"It's three in the morning. Normally people generally _are_ asleep at three a.m."

Blaise evidently had no care for what 'normal' people did, as he had crawled into bed beside Theodore and wouldn't stop talking.

"Did you hear that Draco got transfigured into a ferret today?"

"_Really_?" Theodore drawled. "I hadn't heard _anything _about that. I mean it wasn't like I saw the whole thing happen."

"No need to be sarcastic," Blaise whined. "Anyway, it got me thinking."

"You _think_, Zabini? Have I wandered into another dimension?"

Theodore could tell that his friend was pouting even though he was facing away from him.

"I was just thinking that it would have been even funnier if Professor Moody had transfigured Greg and Vinnie as well as Draco. I reckon that Greg would have been a gargoyle because his surname's Goyle and he just looks like a gargoyle, you know? And Vinnie would have been a crab because his surname's Crabbe. I know they're spelt differently but they sound similar enough. Or maybe he would have been a bear. Doesn't Vinnie remind you of a bear? No, I think a crab fits better."

"I'll transfigure you into a crab in a minute if you don't stop talking."

Blaise immediately shut up. He knew that Theodore didn't make empty threats.


	6. Itch

VI. Itch

"This. Tie. Is. Making. My. Neck. _Itch_," Blaise growled, pausing between each word to yank his silver and green tie away from his neck. "I hate it, I hate it, I hate it! What stupid mudwallowing bastard decided that making us wear a stupid piece of muggle clothing was a good idea? These people are insane as well as idiotic!"

"You haven't shut up about this all day," Theodore sighed.

"And you haven't complained all day. You're a self-respecting pureblood, how can you not complain about this? They're trying to turn us into muggles!"

"In case you haven't noticed, Zabini, I'm not actually wearing a tie," Theodore replied. "The letters just recommended we wear them; it's not compulsory. It's just something to make the mudbloods more comfortable."

Blaise looked at him icily, then finally shouted, "Why did you not tell me that earlier?!"


	7. Green

VII. Green

"Green is so not my colour," Blaise sighed melodramatically. "It makes me look ill."

Theodore glanced up from his book and shot Blaise a disbelieving stare. "Are you sure you're not really Parkinson? You sound exactly like her."

"Of course not. Pansy's complexion suits green. I don't though; I'm too dark. It's making me look like I've got dragon pox or something."

"You're either just melodramatic or you're really female," Theodore replied. "I've never heard a man rant on about what colour robes he has to wear."

Blaise clearly wasn't listening. "Why couldn't Slytherin wear red and Gryffindor green? It's not like I'd ever want to be a Gryffindor, but red would suit me so much better."

Theodore continued to ignore him.

"Well at least I don't look so bad as Malfoy," Blaise said at last, smiling to himself. "Green makes him look like an Inferi. You know I think green is just a stupidly hard colour to wear anyway. They should make pink the Slytherin colour."

"I was right," Theodore groaned. "You really have been possessed by Parkinson's ghost."

"How could I be possessed by Pansy's ghost? She's not dead yet!"

"You will be soon if you don't stop acting like her."


	8. Paper

VIII. Paper

"Zabini, what in Merlin's name is _that_?"

Blaise was holding a red block filled with square, white sheets.

"This, my dear Theo, is a notebook," Blaise replied, grinning. "A muggle notebook."

"First of all, I am _not _your 'dear Theo'," Theodore snapped. "And secondly, what are you carrying a muggle notebook around for?"

"Professor Burbage gave them to us in Muggle Studies today," Blaise replied. "She said if we wanted to understand muggles then what better way to start than by writing like them. Muggles use something called paper instead of parchment, which is why this is a funny colour."

"Right," Theodore replied, wondering when Blaise would realise that he was just not interested.

"And this is even more amazing," Blaise said, pulling a strange, shiny stick with a pointed tip out of his pocket.

"Do I even want to know what that is?"

"It's a pen," Blaise replied. "Muggles use them to write with. And guess what? They have ink _on the inside_!" He looked like someone had told him that they'd just invented a broomstick that could fly to Jupiter and back.

Theodore simply stared blankly at Blaise. Now he knew exactly why he'd never even considered wasting his time on Muggle Studies.


	9. Bounce

IX. Bounce

"Wouldn't it be funny if Bludgers bounced?"

Theodore was wondering whether he'd be able to cast a couple of very nasty hexes on Blaise and get away with it. He hadn't wanted to come and watch this Quidditch match in the first place, and Blaise's stupid comments were making the situation even worse.

"Because, Zabini, if Bludgers just bounced off everyone they hit then no one would get hurt," Theodore replied. "And that would make this game even more boring than it already is."

In Theodore's opinion the violence was the only thing that made this game worth watching.


	10. Kill

X. Kill

"What's wrong with you, Theo?" Blaise asked, causing Theodore to jump. He had been staring at the walls of the dormitory again, trying to clear his mind of all thoughts, concentrating instead on the cracks in the brickwork.

"There's nothing wrong, Zabini."

"I know there is," Blaise replied. He went silent for a minute before saying, "It's the war, isn't it? It's getting to you as well."

"Carrow made me torture a child," Theodore choked out at last. He looked more fragile than Blaise had ever seen him before. "A half-blood, yes, but still a child. They're the ones who aren't human!" He stopped, staring at Blaise and wondering whether his friend would betray him for his words.

Instead Blaise laughed bitterly. "You're right. They may have stolen our magic, but they're still human. This whole situation feels like a nightmare."

Theodore curled in on himself, burying his face in his hands. "I just wonder how long it will be before they make us kill someone."

Neither of them wanted to become murderers, but they knew that it would be impossible to survive the war without getting blood on their hands.


	11. Wood

XI. Wood

As much as Theodore had hated being stuck inside while people danced around the Great Hall, he wasn't particularly keen on following Blaise into the Forbidden Forest. It was forbidden for a reason, and frankly he would rather have died from the boredom induced by the Yule Ball than from a werewolf bite.

Blaise, however, had got it into his head that they were going to go and sit somewhere on the edges of the Forbidden Forest, and once Blaise made up his mind about something he was stubborn as a Re'em.

That was how Theodore found himself sitting on a tree root, getting his brand new dress robes covered with moss and snow and dirt. He would have thought that Blaise would have hated the dirt, but the other boy didn't seem to mind. He had already swallowed the contents of a quarter of a bottle of firewhisky, so he was far too drunk to care about such trivial things as the cold or getting into trouble.

"You know what, Theo? Tonight is good," Blaise cheered, taking another swig of firewhisky then collapsing against Theodore's shoulder.

"I've had worse nights," Theodore replied.

"You know what, Theo?"

"What?"

"I love you," Blaise slurred, a stupid smile on his face.

"Say that again and I'll leave you out here for the werewolves to eat."


	12. Numbers

XII. Numbers

"How can you understand Arithmancy?" Blaise asked. "Just looking at all those diagrams is making my head hurt."

"That's because you've never studied it," Theodore replied tersely, wishing that he could be left alone and allowed to get on with his work for one. "Arithmancy's easy, really. Not all of us were too lazy to take actual _subjects _for our OWLs, you know."

"Not all of us have your brains, Theo," Blaise sighed. "To me that looks impossible. I mean look at it – it's all numbers."

"That's why it's easy," Theodore replied. "You can't argue with numbers."

"Sometimes I really do wonder whether you should have been a Ravenclaw."


	13. Labels

XIII. Labels

"Why does everyone assume that we're horrible people just because we're Slytherins?" Blaise asked.

"Because people like to label things. It helps them understand the world better," Theodore replied. "So Slytherins are horrible, Ravenclaws are bookworms, Hufflepuffs are useless and Gryffindors are stupid."

"But Ravenclaws _are_ bookworms," Blaise protested. "And have you ever met a Hufflepuff that wasn't useless or a Gryffindor that wasn't stupid?"

"Have you ever seen Padma Patil so much as look at a book?"

"No…"

"And Justin Finch-Fletchley managed to stop you completely ruining your last Muggle Studies project, so I wouldn't exactly call him useless."

"Yes, but…"

"And isn't the most academic witch in our year a Gryffindor?"

"Granger's a Mudblood, that doesn't count!" Blaise protested.

"You're missing the point, Zabini."

"Ok, Theo, ok. I see your point. Labels are stupid."

"You're evidently not as dull as you look."

"And people like you are obviously the reason why everyone thinks that Slytherins are horrible!"


	14. Luck

XIV. Luck

"Theo, don't you think it's lucky that no Slytherins have been hurt by the monster yet?" Blaise asked.

Theodore looked at Blaise as though he had just announced that he wanted to give up magic and become a muggle.

"Are you actually a complete idiot? Luck's got nothing to do with it."

Blaise frowned, choosing to ignore Theodore's insult. "What is it then?"

"Slytherin's monster only goes after mudbloods, and whoever heard of something so strange as a mudblood in Slytherin?" Theodore shook his head in disbelief. "Honestly, one would think you'd never even read Hogwarts: A History."


	15. Triangles

XV. Triangles

"If I didn't know better, Zabini, I'd say that you're some sort of male Veela."

"I don't know what you mean." Blaise is trying to appear innocent but Theodore isn't going to believe that for one second.

"I mean that I've seen you with Lisa Turpin this week. And Terry Boot. And Zacharias Smith," Theodore replies.

"And your point is?"

"My point," Theodore hisses, "Is that you seem totally incapable of having a normal relationship with someone. You're turning into your mother."

"I am not!" Blaise shouts. Theodore raises an eyebrow.

"Then why don't you try having a _normal _relationship with someone for once in your life?"

"I would if you let me," Blaise icily replies.


	16. Peanut Butter

XVI. Peanut Butter

Theodore was staring at Blaise in abject horror.

"What?" Blaise mumbled through a mouthful of food.

"You know, it's times like these that make me wonder why I torture myself by sitting next to you at breakfast."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because, Zabini, you just put _peanut butter_ in your _porridge_," Theodore said slowly. "Sometimes I really do wonder what's wrong with you."


	17. Hat

XVII. Hat

"Why do wizards still wear hats and robes?" Blaise asked out of the blue one day.

Theodore could not for the life of him understand why Blaise was asking that particular question – and then he saw that his friend was holding a copy of Witch Weekly. Sometimes Blaise was girlier than Pansy Parkinson or Daphne Greengrass, which wasn't a good thing whichever way you looked at it.

"I mean it looks so medieval," Blaise said, carrying on his rant. "There's an article in here on muggle fashion and it looks so much better!"

Theodore glanced over Blaise's shoulder and looked at the article in question.

"They look like they're wearing pyjamas," he said at last.

Blaise let out an ear splitting shriek. "I _knew _you wouldn't get it!"

Theodore said he didn't want to 'get it'. Blaise hit him over the head with the magazine.


	18. Watch

XVIII. Watch

The door to the Hogshead swung open and a flurry of snow blew inside. Theodore shivered, pulling his robes closer around him, then he smiled as he realised who the new arrival was.

"You're late," he snapped as Blaise sat down, brushing the snow out of his hair and off his robes.

"I got caught up," Blaise replied. "Stupid girls seem to think that just because it's Valentine's weekend that means they're obliged to follow me around."

Theodore snorted into his drink. "I can't wait for you to be of age."

"I wonder why?" Blaise said with a smirk.

"Because I'm going to buy you a watch," Theodore replied. "Maybe then you'll be on time for once."


	19. No Way

XIX. No Way

"There is no way on this earth that I am going to do that," Theodore snapped, annoyed that Blaise had even had the nerve to suggest such a thing.

"Why not?" Blaise said.

"I'm just not going to do that," Theodore replied. It was starting to get very hard for him not to lose his temper.

"But…"

"Zabini, I am not going to pretend to be your boyfriend just so you can make that blasted Ravenclaw jealous!" Theodore practically shouted.

"That wasn't why I was asking you," Blaise replied, now looking highly put out. "I actually wanted you to come to the Yule Ball with me… but I guess that that's not going to happen now." He left the room.

Theodore suddenly felt very, very stupid.


	20. Bumblebee

XX. Bumblebee

"Bumblebee."

Theodore glared at Blaise, wondering what in Merlin's name his friend was talking about.

"You really should stop taking all those experimental potions," Theodore sighed. "It's not good for you."

"I haven't been taking anything illegal," Blaise replied sulkily.

"Then why did you just say the word 'bumblebee' for no reason?"

"Oh, that," Blaise said. "Well I just realised that 'Albus Dumbledore' means 'white bumblebee'."

"Good for you, Zabini. Your life now has a meaning."

Blaise gathered from his tone that Theodore really didn't care.


	21. Magic

XXI. Magic

"Theo, do you ever wonder what life would be like if we hadn't been born with magic?"

Theodore and Blaise are lying in the shade of a willow tree by the banks of the Great Lake. They have been enjoying the silence for the past half hour or so, and Blaise's question comes completely out of the blue.

"Don't be stupid, Zabini. Of course I don't," Theodore replies. "And if you have been then all those Muggle Studies classes are really affecting your brain."

Blaise shrugs. "It's not Muggle Studies that's made me think that. It's just something I've always wondered. Maybe if I'd been a muggle I'd have a stable family."

Theodore knows what he's thinking. If Blaise's mother had been a muggle she would never have been able to get away with murdering so many of her husbands.

"What would you have been if you were a muggle?" Theodore asks, deciding to allow Blaise to talk about this most peculiar fantasy.

"I would have been an actor," Blaise replies. "And you would have been a politician."

Theodore raises an eyebrow. "But Blaise, that's what we're intending to do now anyway."

"I know," Blaise sighs. "I've always thought that life wouldn't be much different without magic. Just a bit more stable – and happier."

"Do you wish you'd been born a squib then?" Theodore asks.

Blaise shakes his head. "Of course not. If I'd been born without magic then I'd never have met you."


	22. Fly

XXII. Fly

"Please, Theo. For me?"

Theodore grit his teeth and stared even more intently at his book.

"Come on, Theo. It's not like I'm asking you to kiss Daphne for a dare again," Blaise whined.

"Can you not remind me of that?" Theodore snapped. "And stop your pleading. The answer is still no."

"All I want you to do is come flying with me," Blaise said sulkily.

"Why? So I can fall off my broom in front of Malfoy and everyone can laugh at me again?"

"You're not that bad," Blaise replied. "And it wouldn't have to be in front of Malfoy or anyone. I just want some company…"

"The answer is still no."


	23. Celery

XXIII. Celery

"And you say I'm the one with weird eating habits," Blaise says, looking at Theodore in shock. "When you insisted on sneaking out and raiding the kitchens I at least thought you were going to get something good."

Theodore shrugs. "This is something good."

"No it's not. It's rabbit food, Theo, _rabbit food_!"

"Actually, Zabini, this is called _healthy_ food. You might want to try it sometime."

Blaise sighs. "I understand wanting to be healthy, but who in their right mind gets a craving for celery at two-o-clock in the morning?"


	24. Anarchy

XXIV. Anarchy

"You know, I think I'm beginning to understand why the Dark Lord does what he does."

Blaise wonders whether he's heard that right. His friend has never supported the Dark Lord's regime (he knows better than most the harm it causes), so why is he speaking out in favour of it now?

"You seriously did not just say that."

"I did," Theodore replies. "People like Dumbledore believe that the Dark Lord is wrong, but can you honestly think of a time when mudbloods have ever brought anything other than anarchy to our world?"

Blaise frowns and stares intently at the ground. He knows the answer but he doesn't want to say it.

"Well?"

"No. I can't. I don't know."

"So you see my point then. Better order brought about by one such as the Dark Lord than the anarchy caused by mudbloods."

Blaise shakes his head. He can't agree with this. For the first time in his life he does not fear anarchy.


	25. Penguin

XXV. Penguin

"I can't believe McGonagall's an animagus!" Blaise exclaimed for what must have been the thousandth time that day. "Seriously, Theo, can you believe it?"

"Yes, Zabini," Theodore replied through gritted teeth. "Admittedly I was surprised when I saw it, but you haven't shut up for the past hour and frankly it's getting rather tiresome."

Blaise evidently hadn't heard a word of that though. "Hey, Theo, what do you think your animagus form would be?"

"I neither know nor care. I have no desire to turn myself into an animal," Theodore replied tersely, wishing that Blaise would talk about something else.

"I know what I'd be," Blaise said. "I'd be a wolf. And you'd be a fox."

"Why's that?"

"Because foxes and wolves are cool!" Blaise replied, and Theodore wondered whether Blaise actually had any idea about how animagi worked. "And Draco would be a ferret, obviously. And Goyle would be a bear. But what about Crabbe? I think he'd be a penguin. Yeah, that's right, he'd be a penguin."

"Do I dare ask how you came to that conclusion?"

"Because he's flat-footed," Blaise said. "And the way he walks just reminds me of a penguin."

Theodore rolled his eyes. "Whatever, Zabini. I'm going to go and do my Arithmancy homework. Come and find me when you've stopped acting like a doxie is eating what little is left of your brain."

He sped off down the hallway before Blaise could say another word.


	26. Guitar

XXVI. Guitar

"I think I'm in love with Kirley Duke."

"Who?"

Blaise sat bolt upright and glared murderously at Theodore. "What do you mean _who_?"

"I mean 'who' as in 'who in Merlin's name are you talking about'," Theodore said. "What did you _think _I meant?"

"You honestly don't know who he is?" Blaise shrieked.

"No, I know who he is – I'm just asking you because I want to waste my breath on pointless questions," Theodore sneered.

"Have you been living on the Moon for the past year?" Blaise sighed. "Kirley Duke is _only_ the super fabulous lead guitarist of the Weird Sisters."

"Oh."

"What do you mean, _oh_?" Blaise seemed to be taking everything Theodore said as a personal insult.

"How did you expect me to know who he was? You _know _I don't listen to pop music."


	27. Shiny

XXVII. Shiny

Blaise Zabini is a kleptomaniac. Theodore found that word in a book on muggle psychology. Even though muggles generally don't know anything, the description of 'kleptomania' in that book fits Blaise's behaviour perfectly.

_'Kleptomania – an irresistible urge to steal in the absence of any economic motive.'_

Yes, that's certainly how Blaise is acting. He's never wanted for anything in his life, yet Theodore often finds him playing with things he's hoarded – completely useless things that he's taken for no apparent reason.

The things Blaise takes are usually small and shiny and totally useless – one of Daphne Greengrass' earrings, Pansy Parkinson's bracelet, Draco Malfoy's hand mirror. No, Blaise never takes anything that he might actually want.

Theodore can remember a discussion they had in third year, just after they saw Professor McGonagall's animagus form for the first time. Back then Blaise had been quite convinced that he would be a wolf, but Theodore thinks otherwise: if Blaise Zabini ever became an animagus, he would most certainly be a magpie.


	28. Think

XXVIII. Think

"Zabini, will you kindly _go away_. I am _trying _to _think_," Theodore snarled, stabbing his parchment with his quill and breaking the end of it in the process.

"You think too much, it's bad for you."

"You only say that because you're an idiot," Theodore said, glaring at Blaise. "All those Muggle Studies lessons have addled your brains."

Blaise shrugged and decided to pretend he hadn't heard Theodore's last comment. "What are you thinking so hard about anyway? Is it a love letter to Bulstrode?" he said with a grin.

Theodore shot him a venomous glare. "Don't be an idiot. If you must know, I'm trying to write an Ancient Runes essay."

"Wait, what? Since when do we have an Ancient Runes essay?"

"You need to start thinking more," Theodore muttered. "Being so completely air-headed is bad for you."


	29. Leash

XXIX. Leash

"Great Merlin on a broom, you'll never guess what I learnt today!"

Theodore neither knew what Blaise had learnt today or, _fascinating_ as he was sure it would be, cared to know in the slightest – and he had no problem with letting Blaise know that.

As usual Blaise didn't seem to care. He ignored Theodore's protests that he had a Charms essay to finish, sat down next to Theodore and stared at him until it was impossible for him to concentrate.

"Will you stop staring at me like a starved kelpie if I let you tell me whatever nonsense it is you've found out?" Theodore asked.

Blaise immediately brightened. "Pansy Parkinson's uncle has a pet Cerberus."

Theodore sighed. He had known it would be something as idiotic as this.

"And apparently he takes it out for walks and everything. I wonder how you walk a Cerberus? I mean it's hard enough to keep a normal dog on a leash, let alone a giant one with three heads, so…"

"Who exactly told you this, Zabini?"

"Pansy, who else?"

"And I may be wrong here, but isn't Parkinson well known for making up idiotic stories and seeing how many gullible prats fall for them?"

Blaise looked as though a storm had passed over his features. "She's trying to make a fool of me! I'll bloody kill her."

"I think you've already made quite enough of a fool of yourself."


	30. Bitter

XXX. Bitter

Blaise looks like he's swallowed three shots of firewhisky without breathing. He's gone pale, his lip has curled up in disgust, and it seems like he's a matter of seconds away from vomiting.

"How. Can. You. Drink. That. Stuff?" Blaise gasps out at last between gulps of pumpkin juice. "It's vile. It's hideous. It's disgusting. It's… it's… it's not fit for human consumption! It's so _bitter_."

Theodore rolls his eyes. "Not all of us put ten sugars in our coffee, Zabini."


	31. Uneven

XXXI. Uneven

Theodore was not happy. He was not happy at all. He was so unhappy, in fact, that he felt very much like cursing the person who was responsible for this – luckily for him, he knew exactly who that person was.

"Zabini, what in Salazar's name have you done to my desk?"

Blaise looked up at Theodore with his most innocent expression, which of course only served to make him look even guiltier.

"I've tidied it for you," Blaise replied sweetly. "You should be grateful; it was a complete mess!"

"You certainly have not tidied it," Theodore growled. "I knew exactly where everything was before, but now it's all confused and… and uneven and, well, just _wrong_."

Blaise glowered sulkily at Theodore. "Muggles have a term for people like you, you know. They say they have obsessive compulsive disorder."

"I don't bloody care what the muggles say; I just want you to put my desk back the way you found it."


	32. Careful

XXXII. Careful

Blaise was sitting on the windowsill in a disused classroom, his legs dangling out of the widow with apparently no regard for the fact that he was on the fifth floor. His eyes were closed and a lit cigarette was clasped loosely in his left hand.

"So this is where you keep disappearing off to."

Blaise lazily opened one eye, obviously having heard Theodore come in, then rolled his eyes, utterly unconcerned.

"You need to be more careful," Theodore stated, leaning against the wall near where Blaise was perched.

"Sod being careful," Blaise spat. "I wanted a cigarette. Anyway, even if they catch me, which I assure you isn't going to happen, what's the worst they could do? Put me in detention?"

Theodore glared at him.

"Oh don't look at me like that, Theo," Blaise groaned. "Everyone's got some sort of vice. My personal choice of poisons just happen to be alcohol and cigarettes. So I am being careful; it's not like I'm constantly taking illegal potions or something."

Theodore raised an eyebrow, obviously amused by something. Blaise didn't get the joke.

"Zabini, you do realise that when I said 'be careful', I meant 'be careful you don't fall out of the window'."

"Oh," said Blaise. "Ok then."

He took a final drag of his cigarette then dropped it out of the window.


	33. Acne

XXXIII. Acne

Theodore woke up one Sunday morning to the sound of Blaise's screaming. He had been looking forward to having a nice lie in, so needless to say he wasn't in a very good mood.

"Why exactly do you sound like you've just been crucioed?" Theodore snapped, shooting Blaise the most murderous glare he could come up with while still half asleep.

"My world has come to an end!" Blaise howled. Theodore flinched; Blaise was being louder than was decent on a Sunday morning and he could hardly resist the temptation to hex him.

"And why is that?" Theodore asked.

"I have a spot!"

"You woke me up at some ungodly hour on a Sunday because you have a spot," Theodore said, honestly not believing what he had just heard.

"Yes," Blaise cried. He was being so melodramatic that Theodore couldn't help but laugh. "This isn't funny, Theo!"

"Isn't it?" Theodore snickered. "Look, just go and borrow some of that potion Daphne uses to keep her skin clear. That should work."

Blaise stared at him in shock. "You know I never would have thought of that."

"I know you wouldn't have. Now shut up; I'm going back to sleep."


	34. Jeans

XXXIV. Jeans

Theodore has come to the conclusion that Blaise should never have been allowed to read Witch Weekly. Now, instead of robes, he is prancing around the dormitory in the most bizarre getup, which Theodore can't even begin to describe.

"Zabini, why do you look like you've just escaped from the Closed Ward at St Mungo's?" Theodore drawls eventually.

Blaise looks awfully put out. "I'm going to pretend you didn't say that. These, my dear Theo, are muggle clothes. 'Jeans' and a 't-shirt' to be precise."

Suddenly Theodore finds himself wishing that Blaise _had_ been copying one of Witch Weekly's new, bizarre fads. No self-respecting pureblood should ever be seen wearing muggle clothes.


	35. Observe

XXXV. Observe

Draco Malfoy is terrified of failure.

Gregory Goyle sets fire to things when he's annoyed.

Vincent Crabbe isn't as thick as he lets on.

Millicent Bulstrode drinks too much.

Pansy Parkinson sometimes doesn't eat for days.

Daphne Greengrass is addicted to dreamless sleep potion.

Tracey Davis is from a family of Hufflepuff bloodtraitors.

Theodore and Blaise hide in the shadows and observe. They know everyone's darkest secrets.


	36. Chicken

XXXVI. Chicken

"I bet dragon meat tastes a bit like chicken."

As per usual, Blaise seemed to be totally unaware that it was two-o-clock in the morning and normal people, namely Theodore, were actually trying to sleep.

"Zabini, shut up."

"I'm right though, aren't I?"

"I neither know nor care," Theodore mumbled into his pillow. "For some reason I doubt that dragon meat is actually edible."

"Hang on a second, Draco means dragon!"

"What has that got to do with anything?"

"Well if Draco means dragon and dragon tastes like chicken, does that mean Draco tastes like chicken?"

Theodore momentarily wondered what Blaise had been taking, but then he heard a loud snore. Blaise had obviously been talking in his sleep again.


	37. MP3

XXXVII. MP3

"Zabini," Theodore sighed, aghast. "Would you care to explain to me what in Merlin's name _that _is?"

"This," Blaise replied with a grin, "Is a radio."

"A radio?"

"It's basically the muggle equivalent of a wireless," Blaise explained.

"And what exactly are you doing with a muggle wireless?" Theodore asked.

"I want to see if I can make it work without magic interfering with it," Blaise said. "It's my new project."

Theodore shook his head in disbelief. "You're turning into Arthur Weasley."


	38. Angst

XXXVIII. Angst

The dungeons are cold and dark, but as far as Theodore is concerned they are the most comforting place in the castle. The dungeons have not changed in the past year; they have always been dank and lifeless. Not like the rest of the castle: the rest of the castle used to be alive but now it too is dead.

He and Blaise come down here sometimes when they feel as though they cannot cope. They don't let anyone else know, of course, and they don't let each other consciously know either: one of them just has to head off in this direction and the other will automatically follow. That's what they get for having been together almost every day for seven years.

"I'm afraid, you know." The words leave Theodore's mouth before he even realises what he's saying.

"So am I," Blaise replies. "I just want this all to be over."

"No, you don't understand. I'm afraid of what will happen when this is over," Theodore sighs.

"I don't know what you mean. Why would you be afraid of the war's end?"

"Because I've become so used to war that I've forgotten what peace feels like."


	39. Smug

XXXIX. Smug

"Weasley is our king, Weasley is our king, he always lets the Quaffle in, Weasley is our king!" Blaise was howling at the top of his voice.

Theodore wondered whether he'd get into much trouble if he removed Blaise's vocal chords: preferably permanently, but temporarily would work as well, just so long as he could somehow get the infernal noise that was Blaise's singing to stop.

"What are you doing?" he snapped at last. "Practicing your new, auditory form of the Cruciatus?"

Blaise looked thoroughly put out. "That, Theo dear, is going to be our new theme tune for the next Quidditch match against Gryffindor. That idiot Weasley is playing keeper, so I thought it'd be funny to try and put him off and make it even easier for us to win."

"Does anyone else know about this yet?" Theodore asked, privately hoping that no one did and that someone else would do him a favour and murder Blaise as soon as they heard the blasted thing.

Blaise's face lit up immediately. "I'll go and tell Draco about it now. He might be able to come up with some more lyrics."

He rushed over to where Draco was sitting immediately. Theodore turned his attention back to the book he'd been trying to read; finally he'd get some peace.

Half an hour later every Slytherin except Theodore seemed to be chanting 'Weasley is our king' as loudly as they could, and Blaise was wearing smuggest grin that Theodore had ever seen in his life.


	40. Potions

XL. Potions

Theodore had long since come to the conclusion that Blaise should never again be allowed to set foot anywhere near a Potions classroom. That was why, when Blaise told him that he had got an O in his Potions OWL and would be continuing the subject to NEWT-level, Theodore's immediate reaction had been to gape openly at him in horror.

Blaise was going to do NEWT-level Potions? Blaise, who had somehow managed to blow up a calming draught? Blaise, who had once tried to make amortentia when drunk and succeeded only in setting fire to his robes? Blaise, who was in short the worst Slytherin to set foot in a Potions classroom in the thousand years since the school had opened, wanted to do NEWT-level Potions?

Then Blaise started laughing, "I was only joking, you know."

Normally Theodore would have been enraged that someone had played a trick on him, but this time he only felt a deep sense of relief.


	41. Pain

XLI. Pain

"But Theo, I don't want to take it. It'll hurt, and you _know _I don't like pain!"

Theodore was rapidly losing patience. This argument had been going on for well over half an hour already, and he didn't seem to be getting anywhere.

"Just drink it, Zabini," Theodore snapped.

"But I don't _want_ to," Blaise whined. "It tastes horrid and it burns."

"In that case you should love it then," Theodore replied curtly. "You seem perfectly capable of drinking ridiculous amounts of firewhisky after all."

Blaise stuck out his bottom lip, reminding Theodore uncannily of a sulky two year old. "But pepperup potion is medicine, so obviously it can't be good for you."

Great. Blaise was even resorting to childish logic now. Well, in that case there was only one thing for it.

"Fine, you win," Theodore sighed. "Have it your way. But you'll be sleeping with the Gryffindors tonight; none of the rest of us want to catch your cold."

It worked: Blaise drank his pepperup potion at once.


	42. Orange

XLII. Orange

"Theo…"

"What?"

"You're… orange," Blaise snickered out eventually.

"Really?" Theodore said in mock surprise. "I had no idea. It's not like I've been trying to get my skin to return to its normal colour for the past twenty five minutes or anything like that."

"So what exactly has caused you to turn this colour?" Blaise asked, sitting down on the bed next to Theodore and trying not to gape openly at his friend. "Been drinking too much pumpkin juice."

"No," Theodore replied. "Daphne."

"Ah," Blaise said. "That explains it. She's been testing her new tanning charm on you, hasn't she?"

"Yes. How did you know?"

"She tried it on Draco last week," Blaise explained. "He went bright purple, so at least she's improving slightly, right? Anyway, Madam Pomfrey nearly had a fit when she saw him. Thought he'd eaten a venomous tentacula for a bet."

Theodore snorted. "I'm not surprised. Draco's the type who'd be stupid enough to actually do that."


	43. Gorgeous

XLIII. Gorgeous

"Why does Su Li keep staring at me?" Theodore muttered to Blaise one evening at dinner. "She's been glaring at me all evening and I'm starting to find it rather unnerving."

Blaise spat out the pumpkin juice he had been drinking, much to the disgust of the people around him, then started to snigger.

"I seem to have missed the joke," Theodore snapped. "Would you care to explain what's so funny?"

"Su Li is not _glaring_ at you, you son of a troll!" Blaise choked out at last. "The girl's got a crush on you."

"You're a terrible liar, Zabini."

"I am _not_!" Blaise said, affronted. "I'm a brilliant liar, thank you very much. And anyway, I'm not lying. I know for a fact that she likes you because she told Lisa and then Lisa told me."

Sometimes Theodore was very glad for Balise's infinite network of contacts in other Houses.

"Are you absolutely sure?" he asked sceptically.

"Of course I'm sure," Blaise replied, staring to look exasperated. "I don't see why you look so annoyed; the girl's absolutely gorgeous. Any normal man would have asked her out by now. I sure would have."

"I hate to have to remind you of this, but you're not exactly a 'normal man', are you?"

That was when Blaise decided to empty the nearest jug of pumpkin juice over Theodore's head.


	44. Water

XLIV. Water

The Slytherin common room is a strange place. They have been at the school for five years now but Blaise still hasn't got used to it. Even when all the fires are extinguished, the room retains an eerily green light because of the water of the Great Lake, which can be seen through glass panels in the ceiling.

Sometimes Blaise thinks that the ceiling will crack and they will all be drowned. He does not want to die by drowning – by curses or hemlock or fire, fine, just not by drowning. He has never been fond of water.

That being said, it often strikes Blaise as strange that he was sorted into Slytherin. As evidenced by its quarters under the Great Lake, Slytherins tend to associate most with water. Hufflepuffs are earth because they are grounded, never daring to dream. Ravenclaws are air because they soar away on currents of thought with no care for what's happening in the world below them. Gryffindors are fire because their rage and sense of honour is as all consuming as the flames. Slytherins are water because they are cold and ever changing; a Slytherin will never appear the same way twice.

Blaise does not want to be a Slytherin, cold and distant and ever changing: he wants to be a Ravenclaw, soaring high above everyone else without a care for reality.

One day Blaise decides to ask Theodore why Slytherins tend to be so drawn to water in general. Theodore replies that they aren't – Slytherins are earth because they are grounded enough to know what's happening in the world: they are air because they soar high above all others and relish the freedom that their abilities give them: they are fire because their drive and ambition will consume everything in their path so they can get what they want: and they are water because they are calm and collected no matter what's thrown at them. Given the right circumstances Slytherins can be the most destructive people of all.


	45. Infinity

XLV. Infinity

They weren't really supposed to be outside at this time, but it was too hot to sleep and it honestly wasn't likely that anyone would catch them. After all, whoever would think to look for a pair of Slytherins down by the Great Lake at two-o-clock in the morning?

That was where Blaise and Theodore were though: sprawled out by the banks of the Great Lake. Blaise was sitting with his feet in the water, Theodore reclining under the branches of a willow tree.

"I love summer nights," Blaise said, staring up at the sky. "Especially ones like this where you can see lots of stars. It's so peaceful. It's weird to think that most of the stars up there don't even exist anymore though, isn't it?"

"What are you talking about?" Theodore sighed. He had only come outside with Blaise because he hadn't been able to sleep and had thought the fresh air might tire him a little; he had not come outside so he could be bored to tears by Blaise's pointless philosophising.

"Lots of those stars don't exist now," Blaise explained. "I read it in a muggle book a while ago. We're looking into infinity, into eternity. It really is bizarre."

"The only bizarre thing here is you," Theodore replied. "Muggle books indeed. You should know that they're full of rubbish. The stars don't exist, _honestly _– next thing you know you'll be saying that the Earth isn't flat."

"It isn't."

Theodore raised an eyebrow. "You're insane, Zabini: I hope you realise that. Now shut up; I'm going to see if I can get some sleep."


	46. Balloon

XLVI. Balloon

Theodore is honestly wondering if he ought to kill Blaise. When his friend had suggested going on a daytrip to London, he had expected Knockturn Alley, possibly Diagon Alley, but certainly not muggle London.

Theodore has only been to purely muggle parts of Britain a handful of times in his life, and never of his own volition. Muggle London is crowded and loud and smells terribly unpleasant – this, Theodore supposes, is probably because he spends all of his time in the country otherwise. Not like Blaise, who seems to spend his summers travelling around Milan and St Petersburg, New York and Istanbul, Cairo and Mumbai – anywhere, in short, where he has family. The Zabinis are an ancient, matrilineal line, and there isn't anywhere in the world where they haven't settled at some point. Theodore's family, on the other hand, are just as ancient but patriarchal and have never travelled further away from Britain than France. That, Theodore supposes, is why Blaise is happy in this crowded, multicultural chaos and he is not.

They have spent most of the day shopping (which hasn't been to Theodore's liking at all) but now they are, thankfully, heading back to the relative sanity of wizarding London. Then Blaise stops dead, a grin on his face. Theodore wonders for a moment whether his friend has decided to drag him into yet another shop, but that's when he sees that Blaise has spotted a muggle selling brightly coloured balloons. Blaise disappears for a moment, then returns with two Slytherin-green balloons, one of which he passes to Theodore, who takes it reluctantly.

The childish delight in Blaise's eyes makes their daytrip to Hell almost worth the hassle. Almost.


	47. Schedule

XLVII. Schedule

"Theo, what _are_ you doing?" Blaise asked. Theodore was hunched over a stack of parchments, a look of deep concentration on his face: this was something that Blaise found deeply disturbing considering that it was a Saturday.

"I'm drawing up a revision schedule," Theodore replied. "After all, our OWLs aren't far off now."

"We've got _four months_!" Blaise cried.

"It's never too early to start working," Theodore said. "Who knows, if you start revising now you might actually have a chance of passing Ancient Runes."

Blaise ignored his friend's last comment. "I still don't see why you of all people are bothering to draw up a revision timetable," he muttered. "You're so disorganised that the blasted thing will disappear within a week."

"Don't be ridiculous," Theodore snapped.

By Tuesday afternoon Theodore's revision timetable had disappeared into the chaos that was his desk, never to be seen again.


	48. Prompt

XLVIII. Prompt

Prompt is something that Blaise never is, Theodore thinks. He is late for class for the fifth time this week and it's only Tuesday morning. That really is an achievement, even where someone as scatterbrained as Blaise is concerned.

They are nearly fifteen minutes into Transfiguration when Blaise shows up. To the untrained eye Blaise looks totally unconcerned by this. Not a single hair is out of place, so no one would be able to guess that he has sprinted halfway across the castle – which Theodore is quite certain he has, given the slightly red tint to his cheeks that's making him look almost healthy for once.

"How nice of you to join us, Mr. Zabini," Professor McGonagall snaps. "You're a quarter of an hour late, so that's fifteen points from Slytherin and a detention tomorrow night. Understood? Now get to your seat."

Anyone else would have cowered under McGonagall's stare, but Blaise just smiles serenely and slips into his seat next to Theodore.

"I forgot we had class," Blaise explains when Theodore glares at him. "I thought it was a Saturday."

"You thought it was a Saturday?" Theodore sighs in absolute disbelief. "You know what, Zabini? I'm buying you a Remembrall for Christmas whether you want one or not."


	49. Park

XLIX. Park

It is a Wednesday afternoon in the middle of August and Theodore Nott has never been so confused in his life. He hadn't been particularly surprised when Blaise announced that they were going to go and explore the muggle world for a day (this has happened so many times now that he is almost used to it), but in all honesty Theodore had expected to end up in a shopping centre of some sort, not a scruffy little muggle playground in the middle of nowhere.

The place is deserted – probably, Theodore thinks, because of the stupid English summer rain that's decided to come down in buckets. He's sat himself down under the slide in an attempt to get some sort of shelter, but so far it isn't working. Blaise, oddly enough, is perched on the edge of a swing, apparently totally unconcerned by what the weather is doing to his hair. This is most bizarre, as Blaise tends to shriek like a banshee as soon as a single drop of rain falls from the sky.

"Zabini, remind me exactly why we're here again?" Theodore says as he extracts himself from his place under the slide. There is no point in sitting there uncomfortably if he's still going to get soaked.

"My mother used to take me here when I was a child," Blaise replies, a far-away look in his eyes. "This was before she started with all this marriage rubbish. I just wanted to come back, but it's only made me sad. Even this place is in ruins now."


	50. Rose

L. Rose

When Theodore wakes up on February 14th to find a rose on his bedside table, he doesn't quite know what to think. Why would anyone bother leaving a flower next to his bed – especially considering that most people are fully aware that he's usually quite allergic to flowers.

At first he thinks that Draco left it there in the hopes that he'd have an allergic reaction (the ferrety boy has been sulking ever since Theodore refused to let him copy his History of Magic essay), but then he realises that if Draco was going to hex him then he would have just done it. Subtlety has never been Draco's strong point.

He doesn't realise that Blaise was the one who left the flower by his bed until he mentions it at breakfast and Blaise's face falls.

"I just wanted to give you a present," Blaise says sulkily. "I forgot that you were allergic to flowers."

"What exactly were you playing at anyway, leaving a stupid flower by my bed like that?" Theodore asks, annoyed.

"Well it's Valentine's Day."

"Zabini, forgive me for asking, but what exactly does that have to do with _anything_?"

"Professor Burbage said that on Valentine's Day, muggles give presents to the people they love," Blaise explains slowly. "And you're my friend and I love you, so I thought it would be nice to give you a present."

Draco has already started snickering about Blaise being impossibly gay, and Theodore finds himself wishing that his friend were capable of not being a complete idiot for once.

"Valentine's Day is a stupid muggle holiday. Any self-respecting wizard should know that."

"I _do_ know that," Blaise whines. "I just thought I'd try to do something nice for you."

Theodore sighs, knowing that Blaise is never going to fully understand. "Next time you try to do 'something nice' for me, make sure I'm not allergic to your present, ok?"


	51. Clock

LXI. Clock

There are seven clocks on the walls of the Slytherin common room. Not normal clocks that tell the time, but clocks like you find in wizard homes up and down the country – clocks with people's names on and hands that point to such things as 'work', 'travelling', 'eating' and the like.

Installing the clocks was one of Blaise's strangest ideas, and it was the only one that Professor Dumbledore ever paid attention to. Blaise had said that having the clocks in the common room would make the first years feel much more at home.

There are seven clocks on the walls of the Slytherin common room, and ever since Dumbledore died every hand has been pointing straight to 'mortal peril'.


	52. Family

LII. Family

Theodore is jealous of Draco. He will never admit this, of course, but he knows that it's true. He may be just as much of a pureblood as Draco and he may be substantially smarter than Draco, but Draco has one thing that Theodore doesn't – a family.

Theodore's father was a Death Eater. He is a psychopath, an alcoholic, a murderer.

Theodore does not have a mother. His mother died when he was nine years old. His father was the one that killed her.

When he stops to think about this, Theodore realises that it doesn't matter. He doesn't need a family. He has Blaise, and he knows that Blaise will never leave him. Blaise is too well trained; he will always do what he's told.


	53. Hard

LIII. Hard

"It must have been hard for you."

Theodore knew what was coming next. "Thank you for your concern, but I don't want to hear it."

All he had heard since arriving back at Hogwarts was 'Oh, look at poor Nott, daddy's in Azkaban now, isn't he?' Said with varying degrees of sarcasm depending on the person, of course.

"I wasn't going to say anything about your dad," Blaise muttered. "Well, that's a bit of a lie. I was. I was just going to say that it must have been hard for you, having to live with your father all these years. I mean it's hard enough putting up with my mother – and she's not even a Death Eater!" He went silent for a moment then he spoke again. "I wonder how long it'll be before they take her away to Azkaban as well."

Theodore didn't answer. He didn't want to think about it.


	54. Competition

LIV. Competition

"Who does that jumped up little mudblood think she is?" Theodore was ranting. "They think they can just come into our world and pretend to understand it, don't they? Well I'll tell you something – they don't. They don't understand our world and they never will because they're not a part of it!"

Blaise sighed, wondering how long it would take for Theodore to shut up. Usually Theodore would go quiet and sulk, and Blaise much preferred it that way. After all, he was the one who was supposed to completely overreact, not Theodore.

"She only got a higher grade than you in Ancient Runes, Theo," Blaise sighed. "And you still beat me anyway, so why do you care?"

"I care," Theodore snapped, "because I do not want mudbloods like Granger thinking they actually know what they're doing when it's plain as day that they don't!"

"I think you're just afraid of having competition for once," Blaise muttered in reply.


	55. College

LV. College

"I want to go to a muggle university when I finish school."

Theodore really wasn't in the mood for this. He had an Astronomy essay to write and Charms practice to do: yet here Blaise was again, trying to start an utterly pointless and rather annoying conversation.

"What would you want to do that for?" Theodore asked. "No self-respecting pureblood should want to be seen dead amongst muggles."

Blaise shrugged. "I find their culture interesting – and besides, I could study to be an actor in the muggle world. Wizards just don't seem interested in artistic things."

"That's because art is useless," Theodore replied.

"That's the beauty of it."

"You sound like a rather eccentric Ravenclaw."

"And what are you intending to do when we finish school?" Blaise asked. "Let me guess, you're going to go and sell your soul to the Ministry?"

"Of course; unlike you I actually want to do something useful with my life."


	56. Red

LVI. Red

Blaise is wearing blood red robes, blood red lipstick and has even painted his nails in that shade. If Theodore didn't know better, he'd honestly have thought that Blaise was a girl. He supposes that that is the point.

"I was curious, that's all," Blaise says when Theodore asks him what in Merlin's name he's doing. "I think I'd have made a beautiful witch, don't you?"

Theodore has to agree that he would have.

"So how do I look, honestly?"

"I've told you before that you look just like your mother when you insist on doing this," Theodore replies.

Blaise wipes the lipstick off in disgust.


	57. Organise

LVII. Organise

"Where. Is. My. Arithmancy. Textbook?" Theodore shouted, pausing between each word as he threw things off his desk in an attempt to find the elusive book.

Blaise was trying not to laugh. "You've lost it again, haven't you? I don't even understand how that's possible. I mean the thing is the size your trunk."

"I have not lost it, Zabini," Theodore snapped. "I just can't find it."

"Looks like you've lost it to me," Blaise replied. "You really need to learn to be a bit more organised."

"I am organised. It's obvious that Draco or someone must have moved it!"

"Why would they do that?" Blaise asked. "None of the rest of us even _take_ Arithmancy. Just admit you've lost it, Theo."

"Where has that sodding thing _gone_?" Theodore howled in frustration, reminding Blaise uncannily of a werewolf.

"Have you checked under your bed?" Blaise asked.

Theodore frowned. "Why would it be under my bed?"

He checked anyway. Five seconds later he emerged with the book cradled in his arms.

"You see, I am a genius," Blaise said, sniggering. "And you really do need to learn the skill of organisation."


	58. Annoying

LVIII. Annoying

"Astoria Greengrass is so annoying!"

Blaise was off on one of his rants again. Theodore had learnt a long time ago that when his friend was in that sort of mood, it was better to just let him get on with it.

"I mean who does she think she is, following Draco around like that? It's not like he's ever going to be interested in a little brat like her," Blaise seethed.

"You're only jealous because your precious Draco is paying more attention to her than he is to you," Theodore drawled.

Blaise stormed out of the room in a huff. Evidently Theodore was right.


	59. Beach

LIX. Beach

It was cold and raining and Theodore had sand in his shoes, his hair and his robes. He silently cursed the weather as he trudged along after Blaise, who was frolicking about on the sand like an over-excited spaniel, then yanked his scarf up to cover his face. Why had he ever thought that coming to the beach with Blaise in the middle of December would be a good idea?

"I love you beach," Blaise said, grinning. "Don't you?"

At that moment Theodore loved the beach about as much as he loved Dementors, and he had no problem in sharing that opinion with Blaise.

"Well I think the beach is nicer in the winter," Blaise huffed. "It's not full of tourists so we can actually lie down on the sand and get a good look at the sea. I wish Hogwarts was closer to the sea."

"You're insane," Theodore muttered, wondering how long it was going to take for him to get the sand out of his shoes. "It's cold and it's raining and there's sand _everywhere_. How in Merlin's name can you find this fun?"

"Would you have preferred to be at home with your dad?" Blaise snapped.

Suddenly the beach didn't feel like too horrible a place after all.


	60. Art

LX. Art

"Why are you spending so much time with that Gryffindor?" Theodore asked.

"Which Gryffindor?" Blaise had put on his most innocent expression, obviously having completely forgotten that that never worked on Theodore and only served to make him look guiltier.

"Dean Thomas," Theodore replied. "I mean I can understand why you'd involve yourself with Ravenclaws and even Hufflepuffs, to an extent, but _Gryffindors_?"

Theodore had been expecting Blaise to go scarlet, or start protesting, or storm out of the room in a huff after screaming that it was none of Theodore's damn business anyway. He certainly hadn't been expecting Blaise to burst out laughing.

"My dear Theo, you've got the situation completely wrong," Blaise sniggered. "Thomas is going out with the Weasley girl."

"Like that's ever stopped you before."

"Theo, for the love of Merlin, I'm not in any way involved with Dean Thomas."

Theodore didn't think he'd ever seen Blaise laugh so much.

"Well he's not in any of your classes, so why are you spending so much time with him?"

"Art. He's an artist. Does muggle paintings as well as wizard ones, and he's actually rather good," Blaise replied with a grin. "He says I'm a good model."

Theodore sighed. He should have guessed it was something like this.

"Your vanity knows no bounds."

"Only telling the truth, my dear Theo. Only telling the truth."


	61. Fun

LXI. Fun

Theodore honestly couldn't believe this. He had already had to rescue Blaise from the Hog's Head once this week, yet here he was, doing the same blasted thing again. Theodore almost regretted having given Blaise one of those two-way mirrors, but in a way he supposed it was a good thing even if it was impossibly annoying. At least when Blaise was making stupid, drunken calls to him, he actually knew where his friend was. He was not prepared to have a repeat of last summer in Albania where Blaise had almost been stupid enough to wander off with a succubus, and having Blaise alive was worth losing a bit of sleep for.

Well, almost. When Blaise was singing the Ballad of Odo the Hero at the top of his voice and completely out of tune, Theodore almost wished that he _had_ left the boy with that blasted succubus. At least then he wouldn't have ever had to put up with Blaise's hideous excuse for a singing voice ever again.

Blaise finally came to the end of his tuneless rendition of the song, then grabbed onto Theodore's arm as he stumbled over the edge of his robes. Theodore glared at Blaise and yanked him to his feet again.

"You really need to stop going out and getting this drunk," Theodore muttered.

"Absolute bloody tosh, Theo," Blaise replied with a laugh. "Yanno, you needs to learn to has more fun."

"Well you'll have to excuse me, but I personally don't think getting oneself ejected from the Hog's Head for vomiting firewhisky all over the barmaid's shoes counts as fun," Theodore said, then wondered why he was wasting his breath. Blaise obviously wasn't going to remember a word of this in the morning.


	62. Baby

LXII. Baby

"I lost one mark on that exam. One sodding mark!"

It had been a very long time since Blaise had seen Theodore annoyed about anything, and he had certainly not expected him to lose his temper over an Arithmancy exam of all things.

"I don't see what you're making a fuss about," Blaise said, yawning. "I mean you still got the highest score in the year."

"That is _not_ the point!" Theodore snapped furiously.

"But you beat that mudblood Granger…"

"I don't care about beating other people," Theodore replied. "I just don't accept mistakes – not from anyone, and especially not from myself."

Blaise rolled his eyes. "You're being a complete and utter baby about this, Theo. It's only one mark."

"One mark too many" Theodore replied darkly. He threw his Arithmancy book on the floor in disgust.


	63. Pig

LXIII. Pig

"I have a newfound respect for Hagrid."

Upon hearing this statement, Theodore once again wondered whether all the hair potions he was using were affecting Blaise's brain.

"What are you talking about, Zabini?" Theodore sighed.

"Well I was talking to one of the Gryffindors," Blaise said, "And apparently Hagrid turned Harry Potter's cousin into a pig!"

"And you care about that why?" Theodore asked. "You don't even really know Potter."

"So?" Blaise snickered. "That doesn't matter. Anyone who can transfigure someone into a pig is pretty nifty so far as I'm concerned. I almost wish I'd done Care of Magical Creatures now."

"No, you really don't." Even the thought of Blaise willingly going anywhere near an animal was enough to make Theodore laugh.

"What?"


	64. Curious

LXIV. Curious

"Zabini, are you absolutely sure that this is a good idea?" Theodore asked again.

"I don't care whether it's a good idea or not," Blaise replied. "I want to know what's in there, and we are going to find out!"

Theodore wasn't so sure. He tugged at the blue and bronze tie that Blaise had acquired from some unknown source and wondered what had possessed him to go along with his friend's insane plan. He couldn't quite bring himself to admit that he was just as curious as Blaise was.

"I still don't understand why you want to break into the Ravenclaw common room of all places," Theodore muttered, half-hoping that Blaise could be made to see sense.

"Because, my dear Theo, I want to see one of the other common rooms, and I've been told that you don't need a password to get into Ravenclaw Tower."

"Then how do you get in?"

Blaise's eyes lit up. "You just have to solve a riddle."

"Sounds a little too easy to me," Theodore said, quite convinced that Blaise's information was wrong. "Then again, Ravenclaws never have been known for their common sense."

They came to the top of the spiral stairway, only to be met by a door without a doorknob or a keyhole. The only adornment was a bronze knocker in the shape of an eagle's beak, which began to speak as they came near it.

"I can sizzle like bacon, I am made with an egg, I have plenty of backbone, but lack a good leg, I peel layers like onions, but still remain whole, I can be long, like a flagpole, yet fit in a hole: What am I?"

"Oh this is just too easy," Blaise scoffed. "It's a snake of course."

The door slid open. They were in.

Even twenty minutes later, as they were being dragged down to Professor Snape's office by an irate Ravenclaw prefect, Blaise still maintained that breaking into the Ravenclaw common room had been a very good idea.


	65. Sky

LXV. Sky

Blaise thinks that Theodore's eyes are like a sunless sky.

Most people would say that Theodore's eyes are like a stormy sky, but Blaise knows that that's wrong. Skies are grey during storms, and Theodore's eyes are not grey at all, not by any stretch of the imagination.

Theodore's eyes are dark, dark blue, and if you look closely you can see the vaguest hint of purple. They are like the sky during an eclipse.

Blaise never tells Theodore this though. Theodore is too literal for his own good; he would just think that Blaise had gone completely mad.


	66. Moustache

LXVI. Moustache

Blaise was crying with laughter. He was actually crying. His hysterics reminded Theodore a little of a banshee, only without the threat of death lingering behind the shrieks of laughter.

"Would you mind telling me exactly why you're acting possessed?" Theodore drawled. He had been reading in peace until Blaise had come in, howling like a demented werewolf.

"Pansy… hex… moustache," Blaise spluttered out. Theodore raised an eyebrow.

"Zabini, that wasn't at all coherent."

Blaise snorted with laughter, then shook his head and appeared to calm down enough to talk properly.

"Pansy has a moustache," Blaise finally choked out. "She annoyed Tracey again, so Tracey turned round and hexed her, then suddenly Pansy had a moustache. And it's still growing. And it won't go away. We've been trying to get her to go to Madam Pomfrey and get it removed, but she's too embarrassed." He snickered with laughter again. "I think I love Tracey for doing that. Pansy's been insufferable."

Theodore put his book down on the bed.

"Parkinson with a moustache? Now this I have to see."


	67. Scream

LXVII. Scream

Blaise knows that there's something wrong as soon as the train draws to a halt. The Hogwarts Express may be a useless, muggle contraption, but it's powered by magic rather than coal, and magical appliances just don't break down like that.

Then the lights flicker out and there is ice on the windows, and Blaise begins to feel as though he has lost a part of his soul. He feels chilled, empty, like he will never feel warmth or happiness again.

Images start to flash before his eyes, memories that he had forced himself to forget, things that he never should have seen – things that no child ever should have seen. His first stepfather's death: one moment the man was alive, the next he was slumped over the table, the blood freezing in his veins. Poison. His mother had wept for the cameras but in private she had laughed.

The second stepfather was worse because there had been blood, lots of blood. Blaise had been the one who'd found him, sprawled out on the front steps with his arms slit wide open. The white marble of the front steps had turned pink. Again his mother had wept in public – again she had laughed in private.

The third too had been poisoned, this time slowly but surely. The man had become progressively ill through the months, then one day he keeled over in the middle of the parlour in front of that evening's dinner guests. No one thought anything of it; they thought that he had died of natural causes, but again Blaise's mother's hysterics had told him otherwise.

The images begin to subside as suddenly as they appeared, and Blaise becomes aware of the fact that he has been screaming his throat raw. He coughs and splutters and sinks down into his seat, shivering. The cold has subsided somewhat.

He looks up at his fellow Slytherins, noticing that they too have been affected. Of course – Dementors. What would Dementors be doing on the Hogwarts Express? There's no other explanation though; that's the only thing that could have caused Draco to go ashen, Vincent to weep and Greg to shiver all over.

That's when Blaise hears laughter again and feels his insides turn to ice. The Dementors have not disappeared at all. Then he realises that the laughter has a different timbre to his mother's, even more hysterical if anything. Theodore is practically screaming with laughter, his head buried in his hands. The dead expression in his eyes terrifies Blaise as much as anything he just saw: he knows now what he'll see when next exposed to the Dementors.


	68. Down

LXVIII. Down

"Zabini, what are you doing down there?"

Blaise was sprawled out on the floor of the dormitory, his arm underneath his wardrobe and a look of intense concentration on his face.

"I dropped a galleon down the back of the wardrobe," Blaise snapped. "And I can't quite reach the bloody thing!"

"Get up," Theodore sighed, grabbing Blaise by the back of his robes and yanking him to his feet. He flicked his wand and the wardrobe moved back far enough for Blaise to easily be able to reach his galleon.

"Thank you, Theo."

"It's fine," Theodore said. "Just promise me one thing."

"What?"

"Don't go scrambling round trying to reach things like a common muggle. Honestly, sometimes I wonder if you really are a wizard."


	69. Jewellery

LXIX. Jewellery

The ring on Blaise's finger was a recent acquisition. Blaise may have had a penchant for all things shiny and expensive, but Theodore had never before seen him wear a ring. He had always claimed that they were annoying and got in the way of his spellwork.

"Where did you get that thing from?" Theodore asked that evening at dinner when he'd had enough of wondering what had changed his friend's attitude to that particular piece of jewellery.

"What, the ring?" Blaise asked. Theodore nodded. "It was my mother's last wedding ring."

"Her wedding ring?" Theodore frowned.

"Yes. She's had so many that she'll never even notice it's gone."


	70. Seven

LXX. Seven

"Seven years, Theo," Blaise whispered. "Seven. This is our seventh year here. Our final year."

"What's your point?" Theodore asked, wondering if it was possible that Blaise had become even better at stating the obvious over the summer.

"This is our final year at Hogwarts," Blaise repeated. Theodore frowned.

"I can tell there's something wrong, Zabini. What is it?"

Blaise bit his lip. "It's just, well… it's not exactly like I'd thought it would be, you know?"

Theodore simply nodded. Nothing was ever going to be the same again, not now that the Dark Lord had the power he had so long desired.


	71. Ice Cream

LXXI. Ice cream

"Zabini, why in Merlin's name are you eating ice cream at this hour?"

Blaise looked up at Theodore, a spoonful of ice cream halfway to his mouth, and shrugged. "Because I wanted some."

"It's the middle of January, it's two-o-clock in the morning, it's snowing, and you snuck all the way down to the kitchens to get _ice cream_ of all things?" Theodore said, not quite believing what he was hearing.

"Yes," Blaise replied, looking confused as to why Theodore was so astonished.

"You know what? I've come to the conclusion that you really are insane."


	72. Kiss

LXXII. Kiss

Zacharias Smith has lipstick on his cheek. He has had lipstick on his cheek for the past three days. The teachers have been trying to get him to remove it, but of course that hasn't worked – someone has spelled it to stay there for a very long time.

There are lots of theories going round as to who's responsible. Some people say it's Lavender Brown, but Lavender is utterly smitten with her precious Won Won Weasley so it's obviously not her.

Some people have been saying that it was Hermione Granger, but that's even more impossible. She's been a complete wreck recently, hanging serenely off that git McLaggen's arm – however, anyone with half a brain could see that she's pining after Weasley just as much as Lavender Brown is.

A couple of people have suggested that it was Susan Bones, but he knows for a fact that this isn't right. Susan is shy and retiring and positively terrified of Zacharias Smith and his impossibly bad temper.

Theodore has even overheard a few people suggesting that it was Pansy. He told her this then sat there smirking as she started to rant, infuriated. She was utterly enraged by the fact that people thought her stupid enough to wear red lipstick – didn't they know it clashed awfully with Slytherin colours?

Later that night Theodore sees Blaise staring at himself in the mirror, painting his lips with blood-coloured rouge and laughing to himself, and he immediately realises who left Smith with that impossibly red lipstick mark.


	73. Video

LXXIII. Video

"Theo, you know that muggle photographs don't move, right?"

Theodore actually hadn't known that.

"Photographs that don't move? Don't be an idiot, Zabini," Theodore sighed. Privately he thought that even the idea of having static photographs seemed highly disturbing; after all, they'd seem so dead.

"Well they _don't_," Blaise said. "But I've just found out that muggles have something a bit like our photographs, only it can capture more moments than a photograph. It's called a television. And as well as that, muggles can record the photographs in the television onto something called a video and then play them back. How weird is that?"

"Not as weird as the fact that you're interested in these things in the first place," Theodore said.

Blaise glared at him. "You know what, Theo, your attitude is just convincing me even more that we're actually not as advanced as the muggles are in some ways."

"You really are a moron, Zabini. They're just muggles; how could they possibly know more about anything than we do?"


	74. Scared

LXXIV. Scared

"Theo, I am now officially scared of Tracey."

Blaise had rushed into the boys' dormitory, his eyes wide and his skin paler than usual, and Theodore had no doubt that he had evidently done something to deserve what he'd got.

"What exactly did you do to annoy Tracey so much?" Theodore asked.

"Nothing!" Blaise protested. Theodore raised an eyebrow. "Well, ok, maybe I was sort of flirting with her brother."

"I'm assuming she caught you?"

"Yeah," Blaise said, starting on of his typical sulks. "And then she threatened to transfigure me into a satyr because apparently I act like one – which I most certainly _do not_! Anyway, you're friends with her, couldn't you possibly talk her out of wanting to hex me?"

"I shall do no such thing," Theodore replied. "Frankly I think she's right." He started to laugh and Blaise stormed out of the room in a huff.


	75. Protection

LXXV. Protection

Professor Snape's Potions classroom was in ruins. For once it had not been the product of the Longbottom boy stupidly melting his cauldron (he had already been through five that term; Theodore had been counting). No, Professor Snape's classroom was in ruins and it was entirely Blaise's fault.

Theodore couldn't for the life of him begin to understand what had possessed Blaise to think that it would be a good idea to put Fizzing Whizbees into a calming draught. Unfortunately something had possessed Blaise to do just that, and he had succeeded in the near impossible task of blowing up said calming draught, something that was supposed to be almost completely non-flammable.

Still, Theodore thought, it could have been worse. Blaise was in the hospital wing with his skin temporarily turned blue, but the looks of horror on the Gryffindors' faces, in particular Lavender Brown's shrieking as the mixture stained her robes, more than made up for that. And while Blaise may have earned himself a detention with Professor Snape that evening, Slytherin had not lost any points.

When Theodore went up to see Blaise in the hospital wing that evening, his skin had fortunately become a shade or two less blue.

"Are you alright?" Theodore asked.

"Yeah, I'm good" Blaise replied with a grin. "Got any Fizzing Whizbees? I'm being deprived of sweets and it's driving me mad!"

That was when Theodore decided that Blaise Zabini needed protecting from himself, especially where Potions was concerned.


	76. Polite

LXXVI. Polite

Yes, Ms Zabini. No, Ms Zabini. Anything for you, Ms Zabini.

It was enough to make Blaise feel physically sick.

"Why are you acting like such a sycophant, Theo?" Blaise finally shouted at Theodore that evening when he couldn't stand it any longer. "It's almost like you want to be the next one to marry her or something!"

"I'm just being polite to your mother, Blaise," Theodore replied, laughing. "I'd rather be sickeningly well-mannered than end up poisoned at breakfast, thank you very much."


	77. Sugar

LXXVII. Sugar

Theodore did not know how Blaise had managed to convince him to go to Honeydukes. Some part of his brain had told him that he had made a mistake as soon as he had stupidly agreed to accompany Blaise to the shop on their first Hogsmeade trip – but then again it was better than having to wander round the village on his own, wasn't it?

It wasn't. They had been in the sweet shop for half an hour already and Blaise was still rushing round with a huge grin on his face. Theodore thought that whoever had come up with the expression 'like a child in a sweetshop' had obviously never met Blaise, who looked delighted with the situation to the point of appearing rather demented.

Theodore had purchased a handful of blood-flavoured lollipops and was more than ready to go, but Blaise showed no signs of being anywhere near finished. He had picked up Chocolate Frogs and Jelly Slugs, Fizzing Whizbees and Liquorice Wands, Fudge Flies and Sugar Quills – all of those and a number of other things that Theodore couldn't even name. Frankly it was getting boring.

"Zabini, I'm going to the Three Broomsticks for a drink," Theodore called over to Blaise, who only nodded in acknowledgement and pocketed a handful of Ice Mice.

Theodore practically ran out of the shop into the fresh air. The smell of sugar had been making him feel sick.


	78. Snow

LXXVIII. Snow

Blaise and Draco look like ghosts. In Draco's case there is nothing odd about this, but in Blaise's case it looks very odd indeed. The boys are covered in snow from head to toe, but they're still racing around the Quidditch pitch like the pair of lunatics they so plainly are.

No sane person would want to go flying in the middle of a blizzard, Theodore thinks. Then again, no sane person would agree to watch his insane friends flying around in the snow with nothing more than a few heating spells and a thick cloak to keep him warm, and that is unfortunately what Theodore is currently doing.

Theodore likes watching the snow and he quite likes watching Blaise fly, but the two together just don't mix. He is getting bored and annoyed and the snow is starting to soak through his robes and make him shiver. He pulls his cloak closer around himself and glares up at the two figures that are barely visible against the pure white sky. Surely they won't notice if he's gone.

Theodore trudges across the Quidditch field, back towards the castle, leaving the two shrieking ghosts to their cold, mad delight.


	79. Butterfly

LXXIX. Butterfly

"A butterfly flaps its wings in China and causes a hurricane in Texas."

Theodore glances up at Blaise, confused.

"What in Salazar's name was that?"

"Chaos theory," Blaise replies. "It's basically what it says it is; a butterfly flapping its wings in China can lead to a hurricane happening in Texas."

Theodore snorts. "What a bizarre notion."

"It's made me wonder, though," Blaise says. "You know, if a simple butterfly is capable of causing that much destruction, then that's probably what the Dark Lord's animagus form is. Nobody ever expects beautiful things to cause harm after all."


	80. Queasy

LXXX. Queasy

"Merlin's sparkly purple hat, I feel sick," Blaise was moaning. He was sitting on the floor in the bathroom, his head resting against the cold porcelain of the sink.

"Don't say I didn't warn you," Theodore snapped.

"But I feel so _queasy_," Blaise howled.

"You have absolutely no sympathy from me," Theodore replied. "Just be grateful I dragged you in here before you threw up all over that Hufflepuff kid's shoes."

"Under normal circumstances that would have been funny, but I feel too ill to care right now."

"Like I said, it's your own fault."

"But you must have felt like this at least once," Blaise whined. "Everyone does this at least once."

"No, actually. I'm happy to say that I have no idea how you're feeling," Theodore said curtly. "Because what you have is a hangover, and I don't drink."

Blaise looked up at him and grinned, "It was worth it though."

"Whatever you say, Zabini. Whatever you say."


	81. Hideous

LXXXI. Hideous

Sometimes, when it's the middle of the night and everyone else is asleep, Blaise will lock himself in the bathroom and just sit there, staring at his own reflection in the mirror. He'll put on his favourite, red robes and untie his hair and sit there looking into the depths of his own eyes.

Most of the time he likes what he sees. He has a sharp face, a straight nose and yellowish eyes like a cat's. His eyelashes are impossibly thick and his hair falls in tight, dark curls down his back. If he didn't know any better he'd think a girl was smiling at him from behind the mirror.

He used to borrow Pansy's makeup sometimes, but her sense of colour was so atrocious that in the end he gave up. No one in their right mind should be allowed to wear acid green nail varnish and eye shadow, he thinks. He stole her mascara once, too, but when he put it on there wasn't really any difference. The only makeup he actually likes is the dark red lipstick he bought last year; you can't go wrong with red.

Draco caught him wearing lipstick a few weeks ago and said he looked like a Knockturn Alley prostitute. Blaise hexed him for that comment.

Sitting there in front of the mirror is calming for Blaise. He can clear his mind of all thoughts and just look into his own eyes without a care in the world. The world makes so much more sense when everyone is asleep, and he is never interrupted – until one night he is.

Theodore catches him staring at his own reflection. He doesn't say anything, just raises an eyebrow in shock – well, the closest thing to shock that Theodore Nott will ever willingly show.

Blaise finds himself embarrassed, but instead of revealing this he simply grins and says, "Well, how do I look?"

"Like your mother," Theodore replies.

Blaise can't look at himself anymore. Suddenly he feels hideous.


	82. Train

LXXXII. Train

"I hate this stupid bloody contraption."

They had been sitting together in the compartment for at least an hour, but this was the first thing that had passed between them.

"What stupid bloody contraption?" Theodore asked.

"This thing. This taim or whatever it's called," the other boy muttered.

"Train," Theodore corrected him. His travelling companion glared at him.

"Oh Merlin, you're not a mudblood… are you?"

It was Theodore's turn to glare now.

"Of course I'm not a mudblood," he snapped. "I'm Theodore Nott. And you are?"

"Blaise Zabini," the boy said, a smirk appearing on his face. "I've heard of your family."

"Likewise," Theodore replied.

"Do you think you'll be in Slytherin?"

"Of course. And so will you, I trust?"

"Certainly," Blaise nodded.

Theodore smiled. They were nowhere near the school yet and he had already made an ally. The year was off to a very good start.


	83. Eat

LXXXIII. Eat

"Dwaks rlymlkn tup."

Theodore wrinkled his nose in disgust. "First of all, I didn't understand a word of that. And secondly, will you please refrain from eating with your mouth full."

Blaise swallowed then spoke again. "I said 'Draco's really milking this up'." He frowned. "And did you just tell me not to eat with my mouth full? Don't you mean 'don't speak with your mouth full'?"

"No," Theodore replied. "I mean don't eat with your mouth full. You're stuffing more into your mouth than I would have thought humanely possible."

Blaise glowered at him. "Whatever, Theo. Anyway, don't you think that Draco's being a bit of a prat? He's acting like that Hippogriff almost tore his bloody arm off, but apparently all it did was scratch him."

"Malfoy's always been a complete ponce, Zabini; has it honestly taken you this long to notice?" Theodore drawled. "Now, onto more important matters, we need to teach you some table manners."

It was Blaise's turn to wrinkle his nose in disgust at that suggestion. "Merlin's sparkly pink beard, Theo, you're such a girl sometimes."


	84. Prize

LXXXIV. Prize

"I just saved you from Slughorn," Blaise announced as he entered the compartment, slamming the door behind him.

Theodore looked up from the book he had been reading, a faintly annoyed expression on his face.

"How nice to see you at last. I take it you've finally escaped from Parkinson and the others?"

Blaise nodded. "They were wondering where you were, Theo."

"I certainly hope you didn't tell them," Theodore drawled. If Blaise led Parkinson and Malfoy to the compartment and caused them to disturb his reading time, he might just be tempted to kill all three of them. Slowly. "And what do you mean, you just saved me from Slughorn?"

"He was trying to get you to join that club of his," Blaise said.

Theodore cringed. His father had been a member of that infernal organisation when he was at school, and anything his father had been involved with, Theodore wanted no part of.

"And?"

"And I just got you out of it," Blaise replied. "Told him that your dear daddy's currently in Azkaban and he decided he didn't want you there anyway."

Theodore let out a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness."

"I know," Blaise said, smiling. "So, do I get a prize for being such a good friend today?"

"No," Theodore replied. "But I'll steal some extra desserts for you at dinner tonight. You do realise that you just saved me from Azkaban?"

Blaise looked at him, horrified. "What?"

"I would have quite probably followed your mother's example and murdered Slughorn at the table if he'd made me sit through one of those things. You know I despise dinner parties."


	85. Cry

LXXXV. Cry

Blaise's mother has lost another husband. Theodore knows this even though Blaise hasn't told him; the only time Blaise cries is when another of his mother's husbands dies.

Blaise isn't crying because he is sad for his mother. Magdalena Zabini's public mourning periods last for months, yes, but Theodore is willing to bet that her private ones last for a few minutes, if that.

Blaise isn't crying because he's lost a father figure. Most of the time he doesn't even know his mother's remarried until the man in question is dead.

Blaise is crying because he is sorry for his dead stepfathers and scared for any more that might eventually appear. He has lost count of how many men his mother has killed.


	86. Dogs

LXXXVI. Dogs

Ever since Theodore had come into the room, Blaise had found himself unable to stop sneezing.

"Whatever is the matter with you?" Theodore asked. He looked faintly amused by the state his friend was in.

"Has someone dipped your robes in pepperup potion or something?" Blaise choked out between sneezes.

"No," Theodore replied, frowning. "But we have been working with a Cerberus in Care of Magical Creatures today."

"So that's it!" Blaise howled.

"That's what?"

"I'm allergic to dogs, you idiot."


	87. Epic

LXXXVII. Epic

Blaise threw himself into one of the armchairs next to the fire in the common room and let out an audible groan.

"Merlin's underpants have I had a bad day," he whined.

Theodore glowered up at him. "I do not care how bad your day has been, Zabini. I'm trying to read. Now shut up."

Blaise either wasn't listening or just didn't care. "Theo dear, have sympathy for me. I've just finished writing an Ancient Runes essay of epic proportions. Look!" He yanked a roll of parchment out of his bag, sending a pot of orange ink to go flying and explode all over Millicent Bulstrode's cat, which mewed pitifully.

"You call that epic proportions?" Theodore sighed in disbelief. "Blaise, you've written three paragraphs."

"Three long paragraphs," Blaise corrected him. "And it's so bloody hard that yes, it _is_ of epic proportions."

Theodore tried, and failed to suppress a snort of laughter.

"How much have you written for this essay than, seeing as you're so smart?" Blaise snapped.

"Just over seven feet," Theodore replied. "There's lots of information, you just have to open a book to find it – which I'm guessing you didn't."

Blaise let out a howl of despair, which trebled in volume when Millicent's cat jumped onto his lap and covered his new robes in orange ink. This really was not his day.


	88. Pyro

LXXXVIII. Pyro

Blaise has that look on his face again, and Theodore is certain that nothing good is going to happen within the next few minutes.

"Theo, I have just managed to get my hands on the most awesome muggle device ever!"

Theodore doesn't care about muggle devices, but when Blaise pulls an odd looking plastic thing with a metal wheel on its side out of his pocket, Theodore is quite curious to know what it is.

"Muggle devices get stranger and stranger every time I see one," he muses. Blaise grins.

"This has got to be the niftiest thing I've ever seen," he says. He flicks the wheel with his thumb and a flame comes out of the top of the bizarre plastic object.

"Zabini, would you care to tell me what the point of that contraption is?"

"It's a cigarette lighter," Blaise replies. "And guess what? I can use it to set all sorts of things on fire. Starting with Draco's Charms notes."

Theodore contemplates asking what Draco has done to annoy Blaise this time, but then he decides that he really doesn't want to know.


	89. Stoked

LXXXIX. Stoked

It was halfway through January, just before the start of the spring term, and Theodore and Blaise were sitting on the floor of Blaise's parlour. Blaise was kneeling in front of the fireplace, where a fire was burning brightly and emitting smoke that caused Theodore's eyes to water, throwing logs onto the flames every so often.

"What exactly are you doing to the fire?" Theodore asked.

"Stoking it," Blaise replied. "You know, trying to keep it lit. This room is bloody creepy when the fire goes out."

"And why would that be?"

"Third stepfather died in here," Blaise replied. "About three metres away from where you're sitting, actually. Just keeled over one day in front of the dinner guests. It took us nearly ten minutes to realise that the old bastard was actually dead."

Theodore felt the blood rush out of his face. What was it about houses like these that someone always had to have died in the parlour?

"What's wrong, Theo? You look like you've just seen a Thestral fly past the window."

"Shut up, Zabini," Theodore snapped. "Put another log on the fire; I think it's about to go out."


	90. House

XC. House

"Theo, why do they sort us into houses?" Blaise asked. They had been at the school for over a term already, so Theodore couldn't understand why Blaise was asking this now.

"Who do you think I am, Cassandra Vablatsky?" Theodore sneered.

"No, but you're the closest thing I've got," Blaise replied. "I mean, doesn't it seem a bit weird to you that they can decide how we're going to turn out in life when we're only eleven? Because like it or not, your Hogwarts house colours where you end up in the future."

Theodore rolled his eyes. "Well done, Zabini. Honestly, one would think you were a mudblood, some of the rubbish that comes out of your mouth."

Blaise glared at him. "Funny, Theo, funny. But seriously though, do you have any idea why they think it's a good idea to split us all up like this?"

"Well think of it this way - would you honestly want to share a dormitory with the Gryffindors?"


	91. Broken

XCI. Broken

"You broke my crystal ball!"

Theodore looked up from his book to find a very irate Blaise standing over him.

"What are you talking about, Zabini?"

"You broke my crystal ball," Blaise repeated.

Theodore shrugged. "I needed something to practice reducto on."

"Why did you have to use my crystal ball though?" Blaise whined.

"Because that it's related to Divination, and Divination annoys me just as much as Muggle Studies. It's not even real magic," Theodore snapped.

"But reducto's only supposed to blast things aside, not shatter them!"

"The spell didn't shatter it," Theodore explained. "It broke when it fell off your desk. So I didn't actually break your crystal ball; gravity saw to that."

"I hate you sometimes, you know that?"

"Don't worry, Zabini, I love you too."


	92. Fitting

XCII. Fitting

"That git of an Auror turned Draco into a ferret!" Blaise shouted to the common room as a whole, appalled. He flung himself onto the sofa next to Theodore, scattering all of his friend's parchments on the floor.

Theodore summoned his work back with a flick of his wand and glared icily at Blaise.

"Can you believe it?" Blaise said again. "I can't. He _turned Draco into a ferret_. I mean I know the man's got a vendetta against us, but surely transfiguring a student into an animal isn't even legal."

"It's not," Theodore said. "And yes, actually, I can believe it. I saw the whole thing happen."

Blaise sighed. "Why didn't you do something?"

"And get hexed myself? No thank you."

"I suppose you're right," Blaise said. "But still, even though Draco's a complete prat at times, he didn't deserve that."

Theodore couldn't help but smirk. "You can't deny that it was fitting though."

"Deny that what was fitting?"

"Draco as a ferret," Theodore replied. "He even looks a bit like one."

Blaise started to laugh and the air of tension in the Slytherin common room dissolved ever so slightly.


	93. Letter

XCIII. Letter

"Theo, how did it feel when you got your first Hogwarts letter?"

Theodore and Blaise were sprawled out underneath a tree in Blaise's garden. They had received their letters inviting them back for seventh year earlier that day, and neither of them could decide what to make of it.

"What do you mean 'how did it feel'?" Theodore asked, frowning.

"I mean did you feel happy? Excited? Scared? I felt really brilliant; my mother gave me lots of sweets and took me shopping to buy some new robes and stuff. I think it's the only time she's ever paid me that much attention." He laughed, and Theodore could hear the bitterness and longing in his tone.

"I didn't feel anything," Theodore replied, shrugging. "It was just another letter, this one telling me that I'd be stuck with a load of mudbloods and mudwallowers for the next seven years of my life."

Blaise sighed; that was so typical of Theodore. "And what about this year? What do you make of it?"

"Well, the castle will be free of mudbloods for once," Theodore replied. "So I suppose it won't be too bad."

"What about Tracey though?"

Theodore glared at him. "She's gone, Blaise. If she'd stayed in our world she'd be dead by now. It's best not to think of her at all."


	94. Imagine

XCIV. Imagine

"Theo."

"What is it now?"

"Do you ever imagine what it would have been like if the war had never happened?"

Theodore tried his best not to sneer. "Of course I don't."

"Oh," Blaise said dreamily. "I do. I like to wonder how this year would have been if there had been no Dark Lord and no Harry Potter."

"Would it have been much different?"

"No. Not really. Just peaceful," Blaise replied. "It feels good to imagine that. You should try it sometime."

Theodore shrugged. "There's no point. How can I imagine something I've never experienced?"

Blaise sighed; Theodore really didn't understand the concept of imagination.


	95. Comment

XCV. Comment

"Zabini, would you care to explain to me exactly why half the school seems to be under the impression that we're sleeping together?"

Blaise looked up at Theodore, genuinely confused. "I have no idea what you mean."

"Well Daphne told me that you recently assured some Ravenclaws that you and I are, shall we say, involved," Theodore snapped. "And if that's the case then why was I not aware of it?"

Blaise's eyes widened in recognition, "Oh bloody hell."

"I take it you know what you did then."

"I didn't mean it like that," Blaise groaned. "I told Mandy Brocklehurst and Eloise Midgen that I was seeing you over the holidays – and they obviously totally misread the 'seeing' bit. And then of course the rumour mill got hold of it and turned it into complete dragon dung, which isn't surprising considering that Ravenclaws are terrible gossips."

"So you're telling me that half the school now thinks that I'm a homosexual because some idiotic Ravenclaw girls misunderstood an off-hand comment you made?" Theodore cried.

"Yes. Circe's tits, Theo, you need to learn not to overreact."

"And you, Zabini, evidently need to become acquainted with the subtle art of thinking before you speak!"


	96. Invisible

XCVI. Invisible

Only a week of the school year has passed so far, and already the Slytherins are beginning to realise that the Dark Lord's regime is nothing like they had expected it would be. They had anticipated that impossible favours and glory would be bestowed upon all purebloods, and above all Slytherin purebloods, but that is not the case.

The Slytherins are simply the least punished because they are not stupid enough to speak out. The Gryffindors have had it worst, of course, with five of them already having been subjected to the Cruciatus Curse, but the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws have not escaped unharmed either. Only Slytherins have not suffered yet, and this is only because they are self-preserving above all; why ruin your chances by speaking your mind? It is more important to survive this war than to die a martyr.

For the first time in his life Theodore finds himself envying the bravery of the Gryffindors and despising himself for his own fear.

Malfoy seems to have had more time adjusting to the new regime than anyone else, even the few remaining half-bloods. Whereas before sixth year Malfoy saw himself as the Prince of Slytherin, fully aware and totally unashamed of his own arrogance, now he has practically become a ghost. His family has fallen out of favour and he worries constantly for their lives as well as his own.

Goyle remains as loyal to Malfoy as he was before – so much so, in fact, that Theodore begins to wonder whether the boy shouldn't have been a Hufflepuff. Only Hufflepuffs are that blindly, foolishly and astonishingly loyal without any thought about how their loyalty to the damned will affect them.

Crabbe, on the other hand, is a true Slytherin: the most vindictive, power-hungry type of all. He has taken charge of cruciating the students who so much as appear to oppose the Dark Lord's rule –because that's what it is. They may be saying the Pius Thicknesse is running the Ministry, but he's simply imperiused and everyone knows it. The Dark Lord is the one with the real power now.

Theodore and Blaise try their best to remain invisible. Neither of them wants to end up like Malfoy; when he took the Dark Mark he lost the better part of his soul.


	97. Crazy

XCVII. Crazy

"She's lost it. She's actually, completely, finally lost it," Blaise screamed.

"I'm assuming you saw the Daily Prophet then," Theodore muttered.

"Yes, I saw the article detailing my _poor _mother's loss of her _sixth_ husband after only two weeks of marriage. Again." Blaise flung himself backwards onto his bed and lay there, glowering up at the ceiling. "She's finally gone completely crazy. Mad. Insane. Does she honestly think she'll get away with it this time? I mean even the _Prophet _has started speculating that she's killed them."

"The Prophet likes scandals," Theodore replied. "No one's going to convict her just because of what they've said."

"That's not what worries me, Theo. I'm starting to think that my mother might actually _want_ to get caught."


	98. Nail

XCVIII. Nail

"What in the name of Merlin's great flowing beard have you done to yourself?" Theodore sounded like he was trying not to burst out laughing.

Blaise glowered at him, thoroughly annoyed. "I've just borrowed a bit of makeup off Daphne, that's all."

"A bit of makeup," Theodore said. "A _bit _of _makeup_? Zabini, have you _seen_ yourself?"

"All I've done is borrow some nail polish and eye shadow," Blaise muttered sulkily.

"You look like a complete idiot."

Blaise frowned. "I suppose you're right. Acid green really isn't my colour."


	99. Smirk

XCIX. Smirk

Theodore Nott is incapable of smiling. If there's any expression on his face at all, it's either a smirk or a sneer. Never a smile though: in fact Slytherins just don't seem to be able to smile at all. Blaise doesn't quite understand it.

Gryffindors grin manically and laugh uproariously; Hufflepuffs smile sweetly and blush easily; Ravenclaws look ridiculously smug and arrogant, but all of them seem capable of actually, really smiling.

Blaise wishes that Theodore would smile properly just once; he's tired of Slytherins refusing to show any real emotion.


	100. Perfect

C. Perfect

The whole situation is far from perfect.

It's snowing and it's cold and Theodore looks like he's about to kill someone. It's the first Christmas since the war's end, yet it feels even more miserable than the ones that preceded it. Theodore's house is dark and dead, dusty and dank, and Blaise is certain that it is colder in here than it is outside. No number of roaring fires could bring warmth to this place, he thinks.

It is Theodore's house now, not his father's. His father is in Azkaban, soulless and languishing in a cell far out in the middle of the North Sea. He was one of the final casualties of the war, and one of the many whose death was met with rejoicing rather than mourning.

Blaise's mother is dead. She was poisoned, though no one knows whether by her own hand or someone else's. Blaise can't bring himself to care; he is simply glad that she didn't take him with her.

Theodore is staring out at the snow in silence, looking for all the world like he is carved out of ice himself. Blaise cannot stand to be surrounded by all this death; his friend may as well be a living ghost in this graveyard of a mansion. There is nothing left for either of them in this world, and it's all through no fault of their own.

Suddenly Blaise knows that it can't go on like this; he has to get a reaction out of Theodore somehow: anything to prove to himself that his friend is still alive. So Blaise does the only thing he can think of – he kisses him. Theodore's lips are as icy as his eyes, cold, dead and unresponsive. That's when it hits Blaise that this is wrong. No matter what he wants, he can't afford to lose the only person he has left.

Blaise flushes scarlet and bites his lip. That may have been something he had wanted to do for a long time, but that doesn't change the fact that he shouldn't have done it. Theodore seems even more annoyed than he was before: but then he looks at Blaise and starts to laugh, a sound that is somehow even more disturbing than the silence was.

The whole situation is far from perfect – but then again it was never meant to be.


End file.
